The Grove Nursery School

Highlights from Latest Inspection

Outcome

There has been no change to this school's overall judgement of good as a result of this ungraded (section 8) inspection. However, the evidence gathered suggests that the inspection grade might be outstanding if a graded (section 5) inspection were carried out now. The school's next inspection will be a graded inspection.

What is it like to attend this school?

Staff welcome children and their families with open arms and friendly smiles at the start of every session. Children eagerly find and put on their name badges, hang up their coats and have a quick catch up with their key member of staff. From the moment they come through the gate, children are immersed in a highly stimulating and excit...ing learning environment.

The outdoor area is a particular favourite among the children. For example, they have great fun rolling up their sleeves, putting on their wellies and looking for creatures or birdwatching in the various nature areas.

Two-, three- and four-year-old children all get the chance to play and learn alongside each other.

These times are used well to support children's social and emotional development. Children build strong and happy friendships. They attend regularly and behave very well.

The school's high expectations for children's learning and well-being are realised. Children benefit enormously from everything the school has to offer. When the time comes, older children are very well prepared for the move up to primary school.

Parents and carers are key partners in their children's learning and development. They are regularly invited into school for things like singalongs and reading sessions. Parents are extremely positive about the care and support that their children receive.

This all makes the school a much-loved and valued part of the community.

What does the school do well and what does it need to do better?

The Grove Nursery School is a special place to be. Children and parents like that there is always something exciting or meaningful happening.

Staff provide interesting, well-considered learning opportunities which allow children to flourish. It is no surprise to see why children of all ages have so much fun here. They settle in well and play happily with others.

Over time, they soon get to know the places they like best and the toys, resources and the activities that are their favourites.

Staff build on children's interests and are always looking for 'teachable moments' to intervene and extend children's learning. Staff are good at encouraging children to try something new.

This builds their confidence and extends children's knowledge across the different areas of learning.

The multi-layered curriculum is well planned and takes into account the things children need to be able to do, in small steps, in each area of learning. One strand of the curriculum is the natural environment.

Children are taught how to observe the world around them, including the seasonal changes. For example, children enjoyed watching the footage of the school's night camera to see what the foxes had been up to overnight. Older children completed tally charts when they went on a 'spring bingo' hunt while younger ones worked together to fetch the grass, water and leaves for the school's family of snails.

Everyone gets the chance to plant and grow something. Staff are skilled at maximising what children learn and remember from these experiences. For example, staff encouraged counting, number patterns and physical development while children were digging in the garden.

Children demonstrate a love of reading. Younger children become familiar with stories and rhymes and readily recite these in small groups. Older ones are taught to predict and think about the characters in different stories.

Children's early writing is developed well. For instance, children were encouraged to write letters in the pretend post office while others made marks and shapes with chalk on the garden wall.

Staff use their expertise well to support children's language and communication.

For example, in the sand area, children were busy mixing sand with water to create pies. Staff encouraged older children to think deeply about which jugs would hold the most water while younger children were introduced to words such as 'pour', 'more' and 'full'.

Staff extend children's knowledge effectively as they play.

For instance, staff skilfully encouraged children to work together to build a road bridge from wooden blocks. Children persevered and tried out different sizes and shapes until they finally created a bridge which worked. They were pleased to see that their cars could travel across without falling into the 'water' below.

Children with special educational needs and/or disabilities are very well supported. The school works closely with parents and other professionals to identify children's needs and get them the help that they need. Children benefit from small group or one-to-one sessions which help to develop their speech and language.

Equality and diversity underpin everything that happens. For example, in a recent project based around the book 'My Hair', children explored different types, sizes and styles of hair. Alongside their parents, they used mirrors to look at the similarities and differences between the different hair styles that exist in the school community.

Children demonstrate kindness to others. Staff help children to understand the importance of taking turns. This helps everyone to get along.

Leaders, including governors, have worked effectively to continually improve the school. Staff are very proud to work here and feel well supported in their roles. They appreciate leaders' attention to staff workload and well-being.

For example, by streamlining the procedures for checking and recording children's achievements, staff now have more time to interact and play with children.

Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

Background

When we have judged a school to be good, we will then normally go into the school about once every four years to confirm that the school remains good.

This is called an ungraded inspection, and it is carried out under section 8 of the Education Act 2005. We do not give graded judgements on an ungraded inspection. However, if we find evidence that a school would now receive a higher or lower grade, then the next inspection will be a graded inspection, which is carried out under section 5 of the Act.

Usually this is within one to two years of the date of the ungraded inspection. If we have serious concerns about safeguarding, behaviour or the quality of education, we will deem the ungraded inspection a graded inspection immediately.

This is the second ungraded inspection since we judged the school to be good in December 2014.